Thanksgiving...

I had a great Thanksgiving! I did not stuff myself this year. Don't get me wrong, I did not eat perfectly, I ate the things that I wanted to and did not feel guilty about trying a small piece of the "forbidden foods" like pie and doughnuts not to mention stuffing and potatoes & gravy. I even had a dab of butter on a roll....not bad but I'm not missing it in everyday life. I'm fine to leave butter out now. I think I had more trouble resisting loading up on Friday with all the leftovers. I did great for breakfast and lunch but when dinner came I ate too much and then had ice cream for dessert. My stomach is not liking me today.

One of my biggest challenges this year was seeing people that I haven't seen in a year. Losing 56 pounds is starting to show and I can no longer hide the fact that I am losing weight. I had a hard time responding to the questions and the reactions of people that noticed. All is well though and I am starting to feel good about myself.

Funny little thing......I was always the one who was overweight at all the family functions and all the others were thin......time has turned the tables around and now I am not the heaviest one there, there are several there that are heavier than me now. Who would have known?

I weighed in a day early this week because I knew I would not be able to weigh-in on Thursday morning since I would not be home. I lost .8 of a pound. Every little bit is adding up....up to 56 pounds gone . I'm not losing fast but I'm hoping to keep off what I have lost!

How was your Thanksgiving? What were your challenges? food or people???

I am also learning to "let go"of the junk around me. It is a process...but one worth doing. Cleaning house went well and I was able to get rid of some of the junk I was holding on to.

Getting rid of the junk in life...something to celebrate!

cookies for dinner....

I weighed in last Thursday and was down .5 pounds. A half of a pound is not much but it is a loss and not a gain. I have been retaining some water this week but that's ok it will soon pass.
I made some bad choices on Sunday....for dinner I ate 4 cookies and 2 pieces of toffee, 1/2 slice of cheese and 2 rice crackers. I can't believe I did this. It was all about poor planning. I did not pack any healthy food to take with me for the evening. When I got hungry the only choices were cookies and candy and cheese & crackers at the class I was at. I had 2 cookies, one oatmeal and one chocolate chip with oatmeal and coconut thinking the oatmeal would help fill me up. ?? I also had a 1/2 cup coffee to help. Then I remembered I had an apple in my bag from a couple of days ago. Guess what I did.....I got 2 more cookies and did not eat my apple. I made a bad choice. I even went over my calorie limit for the day. I thought I would eat something healthy when I got home but I wasn't hungry when I got home so I went to bed. About 30 minutes after I ate the cookies I felt really tired and kinda sick. Good news is I didn't beat myself up about it and got right back on track Monday morning. Did I learn something?? yes, cookies are not as satisfying as they appear to be. Will I do it again ? Maybe not eat just cookies for dinner but I'm sure I will eat cookies again!!! biggest lesson....don't forget to plan to bring healthy food with me when I will need to eat. (I do this most of the time now anyway) And eat the healthy food that I bring!!
Wishing you all a healthy week!

Body image...

I found this article about body image that tells all about me and how I feel. I did change a few words around and left some stuff out but you'll get the idea. I have a hard time seeing anything that is good. Even if I see it in a picture, I can't see it in the mirror. I have been trying to work on seeing me....the real me. My husband gets so frustrated with me because he thinks I just don't want to listen to him when he gives me a compliment.....it's not that at all....I want to, I just can't for some reason. I need to believe it for myself.

Here’s a list of indicators that your image may be suffering more than usual (and ways to fix it below that):

1. You notice only negative things in the mirror, car windows, storefront windows, etc. Instead of seeing your positive physical traits, you’re more likely to be found bashing your body, and nitpicking at every nook and cranny.

2. You have a tough time taking compliments. It isn’t that you’re too polite to take a compliment; it’s that you truly believe you don’t deserve them.

3. You rarely think you look good. Even wearing a favorite outfit doesn’t help you to feel good in your skin. You rarely feel beautiful or even pretty.

4. You compare yourself to everyone. For many of us, comparisons are as natural as breathing. But, while you’re comparing your appearance to everyone else’s, you rarely have anything good to say about yourself. It’s always, “her thighs are so much slimmer than mine.” “Her waist is much smaller.”

5. It takes you forever to pick out an outfit — more often than not. Do you have a moment — more like many moments — where you’ve been cooped up in your room, trying on tons of clothes? You can’t see your floor, partially because it’s overflowing with clothing and mainly because your face is filled with tears.

6. You skip events because you don’t think you look good enough.

7. You criticize your body regularly. “My stomach is gross.” “My thighs are enormous!”


5 Solutions to Your Bruised Body Image:

1. Think of the awesome things you can do thanks to your body, whether it’s lifting weights, walking several miles, playing with your child, playing an instrument, riding a bike, dancing, achieving a tough yoga pose or simply wrapping your arms around a loved one.

2. What do you like about yourself, including and beyond your body? Create a list of your positive qualities and achievements, and if you need extra reminding, put the list on a note card where you can see it.

3. Hang out with positive people, who appreciate and support you, who see beyond appearances to who you really are.

4. View exercise as fulfilling, not punishing. Instead of working out to eliminate calories choose ways to stay active that you enjoy and that make you feel strong and good about your body. There are tons of options for leading an active lifestyle: walking, hiking, biking, workout DVDs, gym membership, yoga, Pilates, dancing, tennis. There’s nothing wrong with you if you don’t like the latest workout craze. Pick something that resonates with you.

5. Worrying about your weight and body is exhausting and strips you of valuable time. Consider all the good things you miss out on because you’re too busy criticizing yourself.

Do you think your body image has been bruised?

What things do you do to improve your body image?

If you have any advise that will help I would love to hear it!

No more baggy underwear!!!....

I had a great week overall. I turned around the few bad choices I made and started with a new day and ended up losing 2 pounds this week. I feel good about that. One more pound to get to 55 pounds lost. Five at a time is a fun goal.

I have made some breakthroughs on some of my issues. Ok, the biggest issue is now taken care of.....I have new underwear!!! No, those are not my real underwear in the picture but mine were feeling that big. I have put off buying anything new because partly I didn't want it to mean to me that this is where I am going to stay weight wise....if that make sense. I still want to keep on losing and somehow in my brain, if I buy something new it will somehow signal that this is where I will be staying. I know this is not true and I can no longer bare to wear these baggy undies. I deserve to have new ones that fit...no more baggy underwear....that is my breakthrough!!

Also I am just plain cheap!! and will do without for as long as I can. I have gotten a new belt(thrift store "new" $1.29 black leather DKNY) to hold up all my baggy pants. So the next thing I have decided to do is to alter some of my favorite clothes that I can't bare to part with yet so they will fit and get rid of all the ones that are just plain too big to even alter now. I think this will be good for me and it won't cost any money!!! I am however keeping the biggest pants that I ever wore.

It's a New Day...

This week was ok for me. I ate pretty healthy but, had a few too many calories on most days. I got in some exercise at least 3 days this week. On Wednesday I did 2 hours at class. So for the weekly weigh-in I lost .4 of a pound. Not great but, not bad. I just hope I don't see a gain this week.
Today I did not budget my calories very well and I ended up eating too many again. I made some toffee covered popcorn and drizzled it with dark chocolate.....mistake.....big MISTAKE!!! I can not budget in toffee popcorn for lunch........ it just does not work!! it only makes you more hungry for dinner.
Ok, Monday will soon be here and "It's a new day" and I will make a better choice for lunch tomorrow....(and stay away from the toffee popcorn.)
Wishing everyone healthy choices and smiles!